Starship X-15

by Alan VanMeter

  The next day the S.S. Manifest Destiny arrives and a special mail delivery is made to my office. There are two packages with a chip in each, one from Doctor Clark, and the other from Alicia. The Doctor gives a list of locations in and around Epsilon Eridanus that we are to take gravitonic measurements at. He wants the results with the next progress report. That only gives me a week tops to get this done. I need to go see the CO, and get a fast ship.

  “Let me see the coordinates of where you need to go?” The Captain tells me. I hand him my PDS with the graphic of the Epsilon Eridanus system already on screen.

  “The highlighted points are our targets.”

  “Oh a shuttle won’t work then. They don’t have the range, and it would take way too long. You need a starship. Let me see what I can cut loose for the week. This needs to get done, I received a priority waiver for your team with the mail, so you get priority Lieutenant.”

  I was told within an hour that I now have a ship at my disposal, so I ask to meet with the pilot, and my team right away.

  The pilot introduced himself as Lieutenant Commander Taft.

  “Commander Taft, here are our objectives. We need to get to these locations as quickly as possible, and somehow get accurate gravity readings at each location.”

  “Okay, I can get you there quick enough, but my ship only has some basic EVA robots. They can hopefully be adapted for your instruments Lieutenant Stanley, or do you have your own probes.”

  “No, we don’t have any instruments yet, our Department is just getting underway.”

  Calli asks, “What sort of sensors or indicators do your robots have?”

  “Not much. Visible spectrum video, it had infra-red too. Fuel monitor, engine temp, and that stuff. Oh, they do have an inertial force indicator too.”

  “That will work. Maybe…” I see Calli thinking hard.

  I ask myself, what else would measure gravity, or flow of time-space? Time! “Hey, do they have a chronometer on them?”

  The pilot blinks. “Yeah, a real accurate one.”

  “That’ll do it.” I nod with a satisfied grin.

  Calli slowly grows a big smile, while Eric seems confused.

  “Before you plot our course Commander, I had noticed that one of our destinations is near the fourth planet. I was wondering if it were possible to save that location for last, and maybe swing by the planet to map it.”

  The pilot looks at the display again. “Yeah, that is actually the way I would plot it anyhow. I don’t see why not. If you’d like I can have some orbital mapping probes loaded aboard for you. Those we have.”

  Eric looks to me with hope.

  “That would be great Commander, thank you. How soon can we depart?”

  “Four hours tops. How many passengers will there be?”

  I look to Eric, and he nods with big eyes. Then I look at Calli and she shakes her head.

  “Two.”

  “Good, take a shuttle to the S.S. Apache when you’re ready.”

  I am glad Calli is staying here. We can signal the data back to her to make sure it goes out with the next mail. That will give us an extra day or so to explore. In the meantime she will begin to make the list of main stellar observations we need right away from the new telescope.

  I can tell Eric is excited when I meet up with him in the hub. His pressure suit and helmet are extra-large, as is he. The shuttle ride is so very quick, and we board the S.S. Apache. It is much smaller than the New Hope, with the passenger deck having only ten acceleration couches. The navigator meets us as the pilot goes back to the bridge.

  “Let’s stow your bags here.” He takes our bags and secures them in a locker. “I’ll get you both strapped in.” as we sit he tells us through the suits’ intercom. “Our pilot told me that you are taking gravitonic measurements.”

  “Yes, that’s the mission.”

  “Command had us do the same thing in one system we visited, and they had us use the robots to send an analog signal with a known time sequence, and record it onboard with an analog recorder. It captures the distortion, if any, of the known time sequence, and the gravitonic pressure can be extrapolated from that. We still have all the programs loaded on our probes, I just thought I’d let you know.”

  “Excellent!” Now I know we will be accurate. “Thank you!”

  After we are all strapped in and hooked up to the air hoses, the pilot announces that we are maneuvering out of the planet’s gravity well. He tells us that in ten minutes he will activate the quantum drive, but that we will not be going trans-dimensional, just much faster in time here in the third temporal dimension.

  The pain is the same, without the real kicker of crossing dimensional barriers. It is just a few minutes until the pilot spins the ship around and we start slowing down. More pain as the panels open. The Navigator eventually comes to free us. He invites us to join them on the flight deck down below us, and we follow him. The entire crew is only three people; the pilot, a co-pilot, and the navigator.

  “Well we are at location one, and are at negligible velocity. This is all being recorded for your use Lieutenant. Would you like us to launch the robot and take some measurements?” the pilot asks.

  “Absolutely.”

  We watch the robot through the view ports. It doesn’t take long for all the data to be sent to us, as well as it being recorded on the bot.

  “On to location two I assume.” The pilot says.

  I nod, and we are taken back to our torture seats and strapped in again.

  The next location was the same, and then by the third I was done with that heating up and cooling down crap, at least for the day. So I ask the pilot if we could take a break for the night. He agrees. We have seven more locations to check, and then the fourth planet, which had only been briefly examined prior. It was listed as an ice world. I can only do like three, maybe four trips a day, it just fries you that much. So that means after today, we have two or three more days to go.

  All five of us eat together, microwave baby food, in a tube. We are in near zero gravity here, and it feels great. The crew tell us some stories of their adventures, and they had plenty of them to tell. They are a scout ship, and have been to many dozens of different star systems, some bizarre sounding.

  “But the strangest thing we ever discovered was on Menkent Five. We only saw it from orbit, but they sent archeological teams there right away when we gave our report.” The pilot grins.

  “Well, what did you see?” I insist.

  “Don’t tell anyone now, but we saw three big pyramids, lined up very similarly to those in Egypt.”

  “Now that is interesting.” Eric nods with wide eyes. “Did you know that the pattern of those in Egypt mirror the three stars in the belt of the constellation Orion, as seen from Orion. Not only that, but so do the pyramids in the city of the Sun in Mexico, and several other notable ruins.”

  “Now there is another example, built by an alien race long ago.” The co-pilot adds.

  “We should ask the Donox Legacy what the significance is.” I offer.

  “You know, I heard that the Legacy is now giving a course at the Academy in fully recorded human history. I bet they explain it there.” The navigator tells us.

  “That is one class I’m definitely taking when I get back to the Academy.”

  Everyone looks at me, and Eric asks, “How come you’re going back?”

  “I didn’t graduate proper yet, they yanked me out for this mission.”

  “That’s strange.” The pilot says.

  The second day we get four leaps done. Two before lunch, a long lunch, and two after. If we can do four more tomorrow, then we can go home the day after, or the next. We do get all four done and then are orbiting the fourth planet, a highly reflective ice world. The pilot launches two orbital mapping probes, as I bundle all the data from the survey, and send it by maser signal back to NET Ten, where Calli can correlate it and get it in the mail.

  Eric is busy pouring over the satellite images of
the planet, looking like a kid on Christmas morning. He is completely absorbed in his discoveries. I decide to go and talk with the pilot, and ask him what they got pulled off of for this mission.

  “We were just doing cargo runs to the mine on the third planet for the last month or so. No big loss. Heck I’d much rather do this. We don’t get to hang out much in deep space lately.”

  “So they are mining the third planet, it makes sense now. I’ve heard there are a lot more lush planets to colonize around other stars also.”

  “Yeah, the whole idea with this first colony is to build a self-sufficient industrial base, where we are not dependent on Earth. That way when it does come out publically, it won’t matter if they cut us off, or not. We will grow.”

  “What if they just steal the technology and bypass Star Command?”

  “The Legacy won’t allow it. Star Command is all that is authorized by them.”

  “By George, I think it’s going to work.”

  We leave the next morning, and make one leap home to NET Ten. There is big news and much celebration as we arrive, and we are told that the colony and planets have been named. The colony is now officially Romeroville, in honor of Admiral Stephanie Romero. The second planet is named Destiny. The first planet is Atum, the third is Shu, and the fourth is Tefnut; after the Egyptian first family of Solar gods. Well I know a party when I see one, so it is party time. During the semi bridled celebration I see Calli hookup with a very potent looking guy, and the next day I ask her how he was.

  “OMG! Danny was freaking hot Devon! Let me tell you.”

  “I kind of figured you were in for a major stud ride there girl.” I giggle.

  “Oh hell yeah!” She blushes with a serious afterglow. “How about you, did you get laid?”

  “No, I am kind of serious about someone back home.”

  “Back home? Oh… yeah, you’re leaving us soon. I forgot. So is he a stud, girl?”

  “She is sexy beyond belief!”

  “Wow! I didn’t figure you for being gay Devon, I just didn’t see it.”

  “Not entirely gay, but for this girl I guess I sure am.” I laugh.

  “So you are Bi?”

  “I guess so, but like I said; my girl has my complete affections.”

  “Good for you Devon. Once you know what you want, it makes it so simple.”

  “You know, I still am turned on by a serious stud like Danny though, can’t help it.”

  “So you are truly Bi. Just so you know, Danny is my meat. At least for now…bitch.” She giggles, making fun of the situation as it were.

  “Oh yeah, I bet I could get him to pack my luggage for me.” I wink at her, letting her know that I am just kidding.

  “No, no, no. If it comes to that; then I’ll pack your luggage myself, just to get you off planet… bitch.”

  “I can’t say I would mind in the least, but just so you realize… I already am off planet… bitch!” We both laugh our asses off at that.

  “Yeah, you seriously need to go home to your fine ass girl Devon. I got this shit here.” She winks at me, and for a second I want to make a move on her ass, but I don’t.

  Our next project, the orbital telescope, goes off without a hitch. Just after that, we got our Expediter from her training with the Ensign. She and Calli together very quickly take full charge of running the Department. Eric is happy to correlate the data and update the charts. He also does a fair amount of exploring the surface of Destiny mainly, but he goes on any stellar journeys he can also. Doctor Clark’s latest message requests the mapping of the Ross 248 system next, and Eric is beside himself with excitement. In my next progress report I state that the Cartography Department on NET Ten is self-sufficient without me.

  They seem to be listening as they call me back to NET Nine early. I get to see Alicia soon! Before I leave, I take the opportunity to go with Eric exploring Destiny. He flies us to a spot about two hundred kilometers from Romeroville. We take a sled, which is a strange craft that normally floats above the ground about a foot. It can go straight up a ways, and it can go pretty fast in any direction. The darned thing is gravity powered too, with unlimited range.

  Eric sets it down in a clearing near a small lake, which is nestled at the base of some rocky hills. The clearing has some sort of dry brown grass covering it, and we crunch through this to a growth of some strange low trees. I hear some different sounding insects chirping.

  “I found some nice red crystals by this lake. Don’t know what they are yet, but I’m thinking Graftonite maybe.”

  “So you’re a rock hound are you Eric?”

  “Sure enough. Everywhere I go I have to pick up a couple of rocks.”

  We break from the grove of trees to see the lake. It is very pretty and scenic.

  “Is this fresh water?”

  “Yes, but I wouldn’t drink it unless I had to. We aren’t used to the microbes here yet. It will take a while.”

  “Oh look! There is a cave up on that hill.” I point.

  “So there is, I didn’t see that before.” Eric admits. “Must’ve had my head down looking for rocks.”

  “You feel up for some spelunking?” I prod.

  “Sure, why not.”

  It takes us twenty minutes to get up to the entrance, and I remember something. “Crap, I don’t have a flashlight.”

  “I have two, just in case.” He takes his pack off and then hands me a flash light. “Here.”

  We go in, and the entrance is pretty good sized, but it narrows down the further we go inside.

  The passage bends to the right up ahead, and I go first. Just around the bend I see something that freezes me in my tracks. There is a skeleton leaning against the wall of the cave in a small chamber. It is not any sort of creature’s remains I have ever seen before. I hear Eric gasp as he sees it. Then I see writing all over the wall behind the skeleton, strange writing, alien.

  Eric gasps again as he looks around. “Look!” he then shouts.

  I turn my light and join it with his beam to see a space suit helmet, and a ratty old pressure suit next to it.

  “He must have become stranded here. His story is carved into all the walls.” I am filled with awe.

  We find a bunch more artifacts, including what looks like a parachute made into a net of some sort, along with many wooden utensils, and a grinding stone with its’ base.

  “Come here, look at this!” Eric calls me from where he is examining the skeleton.

  I go over and kneel by him.

  “See what’s around its neck?” he points to a gold necklace of some sort. It is covered in dust.

  Eric grabs it and gently removes it over the being’s skull.

  “Oh, don’t touch it Eric, that’s an artifact!” I protest.

  “That may be, but as I already told you; treasure is only worthwhile if it is shared.” He blows all the dust off it, and raises it to put it over my head.

  “No Eric. This is wrong. It belongs to Star Command.”

  “Nonsense girl. You discovered this, and this belongs to you.” He is unabated. I look at the pendant as it hangs from my neck. It is a simple gold disk with nine red stones set in it in a strange pattern. I do like it.

  “It suits your beauty Devon.” Eric smiles and laughs. “Besides that, you will be famous for discovering this.”

  “We will be famous Eric, you did too.”

  He takes GPS coordinates before we leave, and we hurry back to Romeroville to tell of our discovery. I keep the necklace under my uniform and said nothing of it. I know I shouldn’t have, but it really does appeal to me.

  I had to leave the next day, and saying goodbye to all my new friends makes me sad. I have no idea if I will see any of them again. The S.S. Burro four takes me home; an empty cargo ship returning for more supplies, and materials. The journey is just as damn painful as it was before. I don’t know if I will ever get used to quantum travel. Still the thought of seeing Alicia again makes it bearable.

  She is waiting for
me just by the elevator I always use from the hub. I get hugged with a big squeal, and I hug her back tightly. We go right to my quarters. Although we are busy for a while until we can talk, it is a nice kind of busy.

  Chapter 6

  Alicia and I lay together in sensual afterglow, and my stomach growls real loudly.

  “Oh, damn. I’m hungry girl. I just realized I haven’t eaten all day.”

  “Well we’d better go get you something to eat before the cafeteria closes. It won’t open tomorrow, it’s a fasting day.”

  “What?” I am stunned. “A fasting day?”

  “Yeah, every Tuesday and Thursday lately are fasting days. So they can store up enough food for the next class of colonial trainees. They are shipping everything they can to Romeroville on Destiny, and they still have to stock up for the next three thousand colonists to train here at the same time.”

  “Let’s go then, I’m starving.” I insist.

  I get a big tray of all kinds of food, and it smells so good. Alicia eats heartily too, as we won’t eat tomorrow at all it seems. Within a couple of minutes after we sit down to eat, Admiral Romero asks to join us. We start to come to attention.

  “Please, as you were, ladies. If I may?”

  “Certainly Admiral.” I smile. “By the way, congratulations on our first colony being named after you sir.”

  Stephanie looks down and I see she is moved. “Thank you.” she gasps as if choking almost.

  “Admiral, may I help you?” I am worried for a second.

  “No, I’m sorry. It just gets me you know. That is a huge honor.”

  “A well-deserved honor Stephanie.” I let slip.

  Alicia’s face is suddenly white.

  “Thank you Devon. That is very kind of you. It’s sweet.” Stephanie hugs me as a sister would, and I respond in kind. I see Alicia’s face is in disbelief.

  “I should really congratulate you Devon. That is an amazing find you made, as far as any that have been reported so far anyhow. You deserve some serious credence for that, let me tell you.” Stephanie gushes.